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Valve Lifetime

<font size="2"></font id="size2"><font face="Arial">My sprinkler system is vintage 1992, featuring four zones in front year and five in back, each with a separate conroller box featuring RainBird DV100 valves. The system works pretty well. I had to replace one valve bonnet, solenoid and diaphragm about five years ago, but that's it.

I have one leaky valve now which I am about to clean out. But ... I'm wondering if I'm about due to replace the valves or at least all the diaphragms.

What's a reasonable life-expectancy for such a system?</font id="Arial">

You might still be able to find replacement valves even if they aren't manufactured anymore; check with the distributor who sold them originally, they often have a stockpile of "obsolete" equipment in a back room somewhere. I'm still able to get 10-15 year old valve replacements from those back rooms...

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by tkelly</i>
<br /><font size="2"></font id="size2"><font face="Arial">My sprinkler system is vintage 1992, featuring four zones in front year and five in back, each with a separate conroller box featuring RainBird DV100 valves. The system works pretty well. I had to replace one valve bonnet, solenoid and diaphragm about five years ago, but that's it.

I have one leaky valve now which I am about to clean out. But ... I'm wondering if I'm about due to replace the valves or at least all the diaphragms.

15 years is top value. valves are like anything else. they should last a while but anything could happen. you have gotten quite a bit of use out of yours. if you change a valve you should change the entire valve. "gutting" works sometimes but its way more reliable to put brand new valves in. if your gonna do something.....do it right.